How To Open Your Nesting Dolls

July 20, 2016 4:29:24 PM MST

A step-by-step guide with video

So, you’ve acquired a Russian Nesting Doll, hopefully from The Russian Store, and you’ve brought it home, only to pose the question to yourself, "How exactly do I open this thing?" Well we’re here to help you out, with this guide to opening up your new Russian Nesting Dolls.

Opening a normal to large sized nesting doll

Click to see video on opening large nesting dolls

Follow these steps:

To avoid any damaged to the doll, due to accidentally dropping it, you are going to want to open your doll on a soft surface; the cushions of a sofa, or the mattress of a bed are both good locations.

Next, you’re going to want to place one hand on the top half of the doll, and your other on the bottom half. Bring the doll up to your chest holding it parallel to the ground.

Pull both ends of the doll toward your chest, with the intention of trying to “break” the doll in half.

Once you’ve separated two halves of the doll, slowly and carefully pull them apart, making sure not to drop the doll which is inside.

You’re going to want to repeat this process a few times, however if the dolls become too small for this technique to be effective, or if you’ve ordered a smaller set of dolls, like our miniature nesting dolls, you’re going to want to follow the instructions below.

Opening the smaller dolls &amp miniature nesting dolls

Click to see video on opening small &amp miniature nesting dolls

Follow these steps:

With the thumb and middle finger of one hand apply light pressure to the seam of the doll, until a small opening is created between the top and bottom of one doll. We cannot stress the importance of being gentle in this process, the smaller dolls of certain sets are extremely thin, they are comparable to an eggshell.

Next, insert a fingernail between the space now separating the top and bottom of the doll, and with care pry them apart.

Continue with this technique until the dolls are all opened.

Occasionally you will find that the dolls stubbornly just do not want to open, usually due the fact that the wood has slightly expanded since your nesting doll was first created.

In this case, follow these steps:

Lay the nesting doll on a soft flat surface, such as a blanket or a rug. Place the doll so that its seam is perpendicular to the ground,

Take the heel of your hand, place it on the seam, and apply light downward pressure until the doll begins to open. Again, please take care not to press too hard, as you will not want to squash your wonderful new Nesting Doll!

Now that you have all your dolls open, it is absolutely critical that you preform this final step: Enjoy them!